 Poster: A snowHead
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First leg complete, and now a pause in Basel. Not a bad journey once we escaped from the demo. Snow all the way down to Geneva which is unusual but the roads were clear.
And an unexpected but of good news: my PCR test result arrived, only ~7 hours late (and about 5 hours after I might have needed it). I was healthy yesterday morning, apparently.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@mgrolf ".. initially because the road was snowy but then more because of a drive-slow demonstration.."
Probably a Brit. -- we are notorious for going slow with just a smidge of Snow on the road.... 
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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@albob, I'd agree, except that the matrix signs warned of a demonstration, and we could see the front of the queue with 2 vehicles rolling along slowly together. Might've been 2 Brits with their chains still on, I suppose, but my guess it's that this was the demonstration.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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A bit of a report on the demo here.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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@rjs, nice title :: operation escargot !!
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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The brief sojourn in Basel is over, and I'm on the train heading towards Hamburg. I can't thank @Gämsbock and @SnowPenguin enough for their help and hospitality - rounded off with chilli for dinner and the first half of Strictly (there is a first time for everything).
Basel Bad station was pretty quiet at 9 o'clock on Saturday evening, with perhaps 10 or 15 people waiting for the same train as me. On the platform, there was a helpful sign showing carriage numbers for all the trains this evening, so again I was able to stand almost exactly where my carriage stopped. I quickly found my compartment (same as the way out) but this time there was someone already in it - and of course, in my space. I'd booked a lower bunk to make things easy, but I'm not really fussed so rather than asking the man to move, I took the top bunk instead. Having shoved my skis under the lower bunk, I then heaved my bag up into the luggage rack above the top bunks, and clambered up the ladder. Then followed a comical game of trying to lay out the sheet sleeping blanket on the bunk, whilst sitting on the bunk. There was a lady getting in to the other lower bunk, so I couldn't stand on the floor. All is sorted, and aside from not having anywhere to charge my phone (the power sockets are next to the lower bunks) I'm happily installed. I'm pretty tired, so I reckon I'll sleep well and hopefully feel rested when we get in to Hamburg just before 08:00 tomorrow morning.
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sleep tight ...
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A bit of a broken night's sleep this time around, perhaps not helped by the frequent stops early in the journey. There was a small child wailing somewhere down the carriage at 4am, thankfully not in my compartment, and i don't remember much more so it can't have gone on for too long.
Breakfast arrived at 7, very similar to last time - two light crusty bread rolls with butter and jam, and a cup of coffee. It was impossible to eat them without getting crumbs everywhere, sorry cleaners!
We've just left Hamburg-Harburg, so only a few minutes left and it looks like we will be arriving on time at Hamburg Hbf.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Here's Hamburg station at 8 am on a chilly Sunday morning.
I've got about 45 minutes to wait for my next train and I'm avoiding people, enclosed spaces etc as much as possible so I'm waiting on the platform. Brrrr!
Perhaps this should be my new SHs profile picture, at least whilst COVID restrictions are in force?!
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And while I remember, so far the only document checked was my ticket for the Nightjet. No id, no vaccine status, no test result, no registration form. I've crossed 2 borders so far, 2 more to go, and I doubt I will need more than my tickets. It makes things easy, but also makes one wonder what the point of the restrictions are, if they are not even going to have lip service paid to them.
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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Rolling through Schleswig-Holstein, otherwise known as the flatlands of northern Germany, at the moment. Not a lot to see, it's a grey overcast and rainy day and the scenery is mostly fields with low hedgerows and lines of trees separating them. Lots of the fields have large piles of manure in them, presumably from Holstein cows. We did cross over the Kiel Canal a while ago, giving a bit of variation to the view.
I'm sitting at the front of the train, in first class (cost me an extra 20 euros, for the Hamburg-Gothenburg trip) and I'd say it is about a quarter full. Everyone around me appears now to be sleeping!
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Stop the press! After 6 border crossings, I've finally been asked for my passport on the 7th! I know it's all Schengen area, so on theory borders are open, but in the current situation in surprised it's taken this long for my id to be checked.
In other news, the train tracks on the Danish side of the border are much less smooth. I'm trying to watch Band of Brothers on my tablet and it keeps falling flat because of the vibrations!
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@mgrolf, what’s your ETA in Gothenburg?
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You know it makes sense.
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About 18:00
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Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
Otherwise you'll just go on seeing the one name:
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@mgrolf,
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I'm trying to watch Band of Brothers on my tablet and it keeps falling flat because of the vibrations!
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were you watching "day of days" episode where they are on their way to Normandy in the planes, if so, a fully immersive experience, you have to pay fortunes for that at Disneyland 
it has been a great TR thread by the way, i doff my cap to you sir, for your devotion to get on to the slopes. I have a late night train from reading to Gatwick this Friday evening, and my main concern is if i can get a coffee anywhere!!!!!
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Poster: A snowHead
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Brilliant thread - hope you enjoyed the skiing.
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Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
Obviously A snowHead isn't a real person
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@terrygasson, a bit further in than that, bit still quite evocative as i travel through Europe. The landscape isn't so different from Belgium in places, and i went on a school trip to the Normandy beaches 30 years ago which still stats with me now.
Copenhagen is, like Hamburg, cold and grey. I think I'll have time for lunch, then one more train and I'll be home (apart from 2 buses and a bit of a walk)!
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Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
Well, the person's real but it's just a made up name, see?
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Remember this?
Guess which platform I came in on? My bags feel a lot heavier than this time last week!
Copenhagen Central station doesn't win any prizes for being a nice place to wait - very limited seating, not great food options (that I could see - I wasn't up for walking a long way with heavy bags and awkward skis). And the train info is rubbish. Apparently my train goes to Malmö Central. That's true, but then it carries on north all the way to Göteborg. Luckily the train seems to know this.
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You need to Login to know who's really who.
You need to Login to know who's really who.
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It was all going too smoothly. The train from Copenhagen is apparently too short, and so terminates in Malmö. Have to get another train up to Gothenburg. No indication yet if there is a longer train waiting, or I just have to wait for the next one which is in an hour. So near, yet so far.
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Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
Anyway, snowHeads is much more fun if you do.
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The new train is definitely longer, and also a bit older. No platform change, just a walk past 4 carriages of old train plus 7 of the new one, to find my seat again. Bit of a change now we're on Sweden too - I am just about the only person wearing a mask. Up to now, everyone has had one on all of the time
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You'll need to Register first of course.
You'll need to Register first of course.
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@mgrolf, yes, it is very evocative. i watch the series on a regular basis, a few years ago after going to LM24HR race, we visited st mere eglise on the way back, and visited the airborne museum there. its my ambition to do a European road trip to visit all the different battlegrounds that feature on the series.
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Great thread @mgrolf. So were your SARS-CoV-2 tests checked prior to any border crossings on the trains? If not then would you surmise that entry into e.g. CH via train without any proof of a negative result is feasible for all?
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@hd, no check of any COVID documentation at all. I can't say that it would be the same on another journey, but on these two I've only had my tickets checked, and my passport once.
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You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
You'll get to see more forums and be part of the best ski club on the net.
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Final train arrived bang on time, and I'm in the taxi home now. Not a bad trip, all told, if a little long. Still snowy here, though the snow is melting slowly.
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Nice one! Enjoyed the story - thanks for sharing 
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snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
snowHeads are a friendly bunch.
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+1 - fun to follow and hear the travel tales.
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And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
And love to help out and answer questions and of course, read each other's snow reports.
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Sleep tight, @mgrolf, after your big train adventure.
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| telford_mike wrote: |
| Nice one! Enjoyed the story - thanks for sharing |
+1
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You know it makes sense.
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R@mgrolf,really interesting I have completed a few long train journeys the hardest was Leeds to Athens then ferry to Santorini took 4 days, York to BSM for skiing and when I lived in Northern Germany I would use the Hamburg night train to the Austrian Alps. It is great way to travel.
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FAQ
